Emerging-market governments and their private-sector allies commonly form a tight-knit — and, most of the time, genteel — oligarchy, running the country rather like a profit-seeking company in which they are the controlling shareholders.

Second, because as so many of our brave troops, Nunn comes from that typical small-town America, with a tight-knit community, with a small high school and a great high school band -- Nunn was the band's second chair trombone player -- with its Dairy Queen and its Dollar Store, its historic square and its Veterans of Foreign Wars Post.

One source, who described the discussions on the retransmission fees issue as "tight-knit, high-level, early stage", said that while a concerted effort by the broadcasters is what is really needed, care has to be taken not to cross the line into anti-competitive collusion.